Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Lurking Dangers
Rayne broke free from his embrace and turned to face him. “You better not snore! I’ll throw endless amounts of pillows at you if you do!” she teased, causing them both to burst out laughing.

She walked around the small bedroom and pulled out two identical twin bedframes. “Come, help me put these together,” she invited him over, motioning to him with her hand.

They spent the next hour assembling the bedframes, laughing and joking with each other in the process.

“Ugh! We finally finished putting this one together. Let me just store it in my system and make a copy so we don’t have to spend another hour putting together the second one,” Rayne said dramatically.

She felt that this bedframe was incredibly annoying to put together. If she still had access to the internet, she would have even gone to write a bad review about it.

Julian stood up, eagerly agreeing with her idea. The instructions were confusing, and none of the parts were labeled. They had to redo many steps just to get things to fit correctly.

Rayne placed her hand on the assembled bedframe and gave the mental command to store it. She also took the unopened box for the second frame and placed it in her system trash bin, wanting to remove it from her sight before she got the urge to toss it through the window.

Julian helped her wipe the floor once more, clearing away all the small dust and debris from the assembly process before Rayne took out the completed bedframes.

She placed the first one against the left wall and the other frame against the right wall. This left just enough space for a small nightstand beneath the window between the two beds.

Once the hard part of setting up the bedframes was done, she went through her system to try out different mattresses.

“Here, test out a few of these mattresses and choose the one you like the most,” she said after laying a different one on each bed.

Julian went over, and they took turns lying on different mattresses as Rayne rotated them out until they found their favorite ones.

“I think it’s this one for me. I like the slightly firmer ones,” Julian said, standing up off the bed.

Rayne nodded. “I think I like this one the best as well.” She laid out a copy of that mattress on each bed and removed all of the others.

All that was left to do was lay out the bedsheets and blankets and add the pillows. She chose a set of soft linens and warm blankets while adding the finishing touches to the bedroom.

Julian walked back into the bedroom and admired the finished room. “It looks so cozy. You did a great job. Thank you, Rayne.”

“Thank you. Did you finish the bathroom?” she asked cheerfully.

“Yes! Installed the new showerhead, put up the new shower curtain, and placed all of the toiletries in their respective places!” he reported.

Rayne smiled at him. “Thank you. I think we should have an extra special meal tonight to celebrate!” They had been either traveling or waiting in line for most of the day, only having a chance to eat a few bites in between.

Now that they had finally settled, she wanted to take the opportunity to make something hearty and special.

“I will never say no to your cooking. You should know that by now,” Julian said with a cheeky grin. He truly loved her cooking, feeling that it was better than most of the top restaurants he had eaten at previously.

“Okay, that settles it then! I’ll see what I can make in this small kitchenette,” she answered, walking over to the designated kitchen area.

Since the weather had gotten a little cooler, she decided that a nice hearty stew would be perfect to warm their bodies. To make her life easier, she decided to cook it in a slow cooker (crockpot) and pulled one out of her system.

She also pulled out all the needed vegetables, spices, and meat, carefully chopping and dicing them.

Before long, a wonderful scent spread throughout the house, making Julian antsy to eat. He was currently lying on the couch with Rayne, watching a TV show on her laptop.

“How much longer? It smells way too good,” he leaned over and asked. He had long been salivating due to the wonderful scent and couldn’t wait any longer.

Rayne turned to poke him on the arm. “Patience! It should be done soon! The longer it cooks, the more tender the meat will be!”

She really loved how much of a foodie Julian was. She noticed that it was a side of him he only let loose around her. When the others were around, he seemed much more restrained.

While the two of them were having fun teasing each other, the neighbors next door sat huddled on ripped blankets that were laid out on the cold floor.

“Rico, do you smell that? It’s very faint, but my stomach won’t stop growling,” said a pale, skinny man with blonde hair.

“I wonder if it’s the new neighbors. I saw the housing administrator walking over earlier today with a pair of newlyweds,” stated another man who had a large scar across his face.

Rico walked over to the wall that separated their unit from the one Rayne and Julian moved into and sniffed around.

“You’re right. I can smell the delicious scent of meat being cooked next door,” he said with a slightly surprised tone.

The pale, skinny man moved to sit against that wall so that he could admire the scent some more. “It doesn’t even smell like rotten meat. I wonder where they got fresh meat,” he said curiously while drooling.

Rico crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. The scent was tickling his extreme hunger, making him feel angry. He felt it wasn’t fair that they were here starving while their neighbors got to eat lavishly, even having meat.

“It seems like our neighbors have a lot of good things. It would only be right if they shared some of their wealth with us, their neighbors,” Rico said after a long pause.

The other four men in the room perked up at hearing his words. Rico was the “big brother” figure in this group and usually acted as the leader.

“Bro, what do we need to do? I’ll do anything!” the skinny man stood up with excitement.

“Yeah, tell us! We’re all on board!” said the youngest man of the group.

Rico nodded. “Yes, don’t worry. We will all have our part to play. The most important thing is not to rush into it. We need to observe them for a while first, learning their habits and routines. If we run in now, it will be us who is taken by surprise.”

“You’re so smart, bro. This is why you’re the leader,” the skinny man said, nodding.